is an Age in construction, and Age yet to come, it is being built story by story, game session by session...sort of.
I already have a really good grasp on the loose fundamentals of the setting I am working on, but the actions of the PCs in all the various Exalted games I have been running for the past 8 years are woven into the metaplot and backstory.
But, I was hoping to spark some conversation and brainstorming with fellow gamers not in my group. And given that none of my players ever pop into these kinds of forums I should be okay to bounce ideas offa y'all. Sooo:
Fragment notes and concepts for the 5th Age of Exalted game setting, including, potential rules adjustments and setting changes.
Non-categorized, and mostly off the top of my head, or consisting of notations from games/brain-storming sessions:
Apotheosis: Infernals have the potential to achieve a Neo-Primordial existence, which includes Fetich souls, world-bodies (if so chosen, or alternatively simply massive unimaginably so bodies), and a number of other things, including becoming a world God, as with Malfeas and Autochthonia, and existing within the Wyld or Elsewhere (see Notes on Azanerus), most certainly NOT ensnared within Malfeas' Yozi prison..
This means new worlds to be detailed/explored, with my prediction being no more than about 5 at this time, (precluding Azanerus the Hallway of Doors, and the Opened up Yozi Realms), with one being that of Mycenis, the Hand that Twisted the Loom, an Infernal whose time in Yu-Shan and Autochthonia left both worlds Gods shaken and terrified. The depths of his world body, are a collection of cities and empires and environments stolen from other worlds (or created) and broken intro floating islands in a world of seemingly endless depths of sky over a burning and bubbling world of steam smoke and lava, sulfur and minerals, but little edible resources. Various peoples and nations from Autochthon, Creation and Malfeas past has been replicated and woven into Mycenis' soulsteel and adamant Hyper-weave World-Core. The various nations and islands use airships and steam-tech to travel, trade and war, and though no Celestial Exaltations occur within Mycenis, both Alchemicals (in small quantities, operating using very fragile Essence Connectors to touch Autochthon) and Dragon-Bloods occur in relatively frequency (plus Exalted visitors). Many of Mycenis' native inhabitants are replicas of creatures from Creation and Malfeas, and even Autochthon (especially in the lower levels where the Machine-spirits craft and maintain elaborate mechanisms that feed Mycenis' World-Core).
The Opened up Demon Realms were a result of the Agreement at the end of the 4th Age, by a number of Solars, Infernals, Alchemicals, Sidereals, Autobot and the Incarna to Release the Extreme bindings inflicted by the First Age conquerers. Allowing Cecylene and Malfeas to stretch further and reducing the pressure on all the Yozis, so far as to give Adorjan entire stretches where her silence is unbreakable, never again to be sullied by noise, such that Kimberry now splashes gleefully against Malfeas relaxed shores and Sorczenys broad ranges sloaps. Ligier now regularily keeps a schedule of sleep to honour the memory of the Ebon Dragon who betrayed them, and by staying true to his nature still managed to ease their pain through the magnitude of his death. Within Malfeas, where Autobot and Malfy were fused and forever connected, there should exist an Autochthonian City-fortress, a combination Weaver-Reasearch Facility, Intelligence and Diplomatic Facility. The death of the Ebon Dragon forced the other Primordials to do an emergency and hasty patch job, slapping the Fiend Exaltations onto Kimberry, forcing the death of all the fFends at the time (minus one whose change is...significant).
The idea of a number of Alchemicals and Solar devising a way to allow many Alchemical to fuse into floating world Ships within Elsewhere is pretty nifty, but not essential to the story, probably a side-bar idea thingy.
The alliance that released the tension on Malfeas would have likely resulted in a clearing of the Great Curse, through Auto's work. Not necessarily though, just a thought.
Solars and Abyssals will also be reaching the highest levels of their powers (a few of them anyways) with Solars expanding and altering Creation, along side many Lunars and Alchemicals, creating new nations, environments and cultures, battling the Fae and what have you. As well as scheming to explore Elswhere, the Hallway of Doors, the reaches of Malfeas, the Underworld (and/or close the damn blights) Autochthon and what ever else happens to be impressive enough to warrant their attention. Abyssals will have a number reaching the point where they exceed their pathetic Deathlord 'Lieges' and even the impotent Neverborn, some few reaching an Apotheosis similar to the Infernals, but instead becoming Avatars of the perfection of Death, both Lethe and Oblivion, their Shards changing and passing on to create the seemingly unattached Lethean Exalted, Chosen of Death, guardians of the cycle of Lethe and Oblivion, life and death. This change will scare the shit out of a number of entities, including Lytek, Autobot, the Neverborn and the various Gods of Death, but NOT the newest Neverborn, the Dragon of Peaceful Slumber and Acceptance, whose few Deathknights aspire to reach Lethean Apotheosis and hopefully free their sublime Neverborn liege. New lethean will need a full write-up and a Charm set that covers a blend of Sidereals and Abyssals, with Infernal elements while thematically covering the rightness of Death, the inevitability of Death, the beauty of Lethe and the terror of Oblivion.
Lunars have it the strangest, though once again returned to 5 Castes, their various mates have taken on so many different guises that Lunars hearts are cast across any number of purposes. Many can be found at the edges of Creation, battling against the horrors that would rip creation back into madness, or exploring the various new worlds intrepidly. Some few though, are closely involved in a multitude of Social Experiments (including one in Autochthonia near the Pole of Lightning), or cleansing Blights and Shadowlands. It is widely suspected that Lunar activity helped bring about a number of the biggest alliances and treaties that ended the 4th Age (especially the events surrounding the fusion of Autochthonia and Malfeas), and are almost always to be found near any gathering of Solar-based Shards (Solars, Lunars, Abyssals or Lethean), adding their own brand of chaos to the mix.
Alchemicals have spread far and wide, as Autochthons reconnection to the Wyld vastly increased the resources available within his World-Body, and thusly to the inhabitants within, who were desperately at war with the forces of the First and Forsaken Lion and the Gremlin threat. When those passed Autochthon was safer, but the connection to Malfeas hadcaused a number of changes, one of which was Machine Demons setting up shop in areas that seem to become desolate regions covered in rust and dust and leading into Cecylene, and the various new strange additions to the depths, including the Brass and Saphire Rose vines, a plant that feeds on oil and rust, and spreads through Autobot actually helping close some blights and purify some lines. It also inadvertently increases the rodent population and eventually the infusion of a few smaller predator species designed to keep down the rats (and who are in turn kept down by the Tunnel-folk). Alchemicals from cities across Creation and other realities serve their nations as heroes and Champions, at home and abroad, and where they go, other Exalted achieve greater things when they work with them.
Nobody has had it rougher than the Sidereals. The 2nd Age ended the illusion of their titles as The Hands of Fate. No, by the end of the 3rd Age, the Maidens were forced to add an additional 50 Essences and redesign their Exalted purposes to account for a world where multiple Looms are co-reacting. Thus, the Sidereals have been subtly redesigned to accommodate their new rolls as Ambassadors of Fate, and On-the-Fly Fate Repairmen (think the Monks of Time from Pratchett sans Time-travel, meet the Men in Black). As part of the agreement between Autobot, the Solars and Malfeas, the Sidereals now have the power to deal with the Astrology of the other Realms (including the Underworld at a cost) and now act as ambassadors through out the Realms, watching and judging all Exalts and Gods with the Mandate of Heavens Eye behind them.
Dragon-Bloods. Few Exalts have lost so much, or grown so much. The Return of the Scarlet Empress destroyed their last grasp on power, the Age of the Demon Empress scattered them across Creation and destroyed all their nations (but one, see the New Continent) and the 4th Age, was the Age when they began to rise back to power again, the Bloodline of the Dragons now fully seeded across Creation, Autochthonia and Mycenis. The worlds have grown, so much more is open and available, and the dragon-Blooded are there. Where the limited few Celestials (Alchemicals an exception) are spread out across the worlds, the Dragon-Blooded are saturated across the various Realities, occupying most important positions where no greater power is their to lead them. There are over 400 well-known and respected schools for Dragon-Bloods across those realities, and many, many more lesser schools that teach simple Charms, terrestrial MA's and what have you.
The New Continent, the last bastion of Dragon-Blood rule. The largest nation being NovaLookshy, the largest city in creation, a fusion of Dragon-Blooded (Lookshyan predominantly), Autochthonian and Dragon-King aesthetics, with representatives of all three kinds living in this advanced, bustling, hyper-modernized city. Veg-tech, magitech, Sorcery, and Alchemical Weaving combine to turn the huge nation into a massive towering city that draws resources from all other cities and nations across the continent. The value of the NovaLookshyan economy to the various nations of Autochthonia and a few in Mycenis is so significant that representatives from all of those nations can be found in the Capital city at all times, and all nations from the various worlds pay attention to what happens in NovaLookshy. A fiercely democratic society with a number of socialist aspects, the Novans culture is very liberal, out-spoken and demonstrative, with the many colleges and schools across it hot-spots for cultural revolution.
I already have a really good grasp on the loose fundamentals of the setting I am working on, but the actions of the PCs in all the various Exalted games I have been running for the past 8 years are woven into the metaplot and backstory.
But, I was hoping to spark some conversation and brainstorming with fellow gamers not in my group. And given that none of my players ever pop into these kinds of forums I should be okay to bounce ideas offa y'all. Sooo:
Fragment notes and concepts for the 5th Age of Exalted game setting, including, potential rules adjustments and setting changes.
Non-categorized, and mostly off the top of my head, or consisting of notations from games/brain-storming sessions:
Apotheosis: Infernals have the potential to achieve a Neo-Primordial existence, which includes Fetich souls, world-bodies (if so chosen, or alternatively simply massive unimaginably so bodies), and a number of other things, including becoming a world God, as with Malfeas and Autochthonia, and existing within the Wyld or Elsewhere (see Notes on Azanerus), most certainly NOT ensnared within Malfeas' Yozi prison..
This means new worlds to be detailed/explored, with my prediction being no more than about 5 at this time, (precluding Azanerus the Hallway of Doors, and the Opened up Yozi Realms), with one being that of Mycenis, the Hand that Twisted the Loom, an Infernal whose time in Yu-Shan and Autochthonia left both worlds Gods shaken and terrified. The depths of his world body, are a collection of cities and empires and environments stolen from other worlds (or created) and broken intro floating islands in a world of seemingly endless depths of sky over a burning and bubbling world of steam smoke and lava, sulfur and minerals, but little edible resources. Various peoples and nations from Autochthon, Creation and Malfeas past has been replicated and woven into Mycenis' soulsteel and adamant Hyper-weave World-Core. The various nations and islands use airships and steam-tech to travel, trade and war, and though no Celestial Exaltations occur within Mycenis, both Alchemicals (in small quantities, operating using very fragile Essence Connectors to touch Autochthon) and Dragon-Bloods occur in relatively frequency (plus Exalted visitors). Many of Mycenis' native inhabitants are replicas of creatures from Creation and Malfeas, and even Autochthon (especially in the lower levels where the Machine-spirits craft and maintain elaborate mechanisms that feed Mycenis' World-Core).
The Opened up Demon Realms were a result of the Agreement at the end of the 4th Age, by a number of Solars, Infernals, Alchemicals, Sidereals, Autobot and the Incarna to Release the Extreme bindings inflicted by the First Age conquerers. Allowing Cecylene and Malfeas to stretch further and reducing the pressure on all the Yozis, so far as to give Adorjan entire stretches where her silence is unbreakable, never again to be sullied by noise, such that Kimberry now splashes gleefully against Malfeas relaxed shores and Sorczenys broad ranges sloaps. Ligier now regularily keeps a schedule of sleep to honour the memory of the Ebon Dragon who betrayed them, and by staying true to his nature still managed to ease their pain through the magnitude of his death. Within Malfeas, where Autobot and Malfy were fused and forever connected, there should exist an Autochthonian City-fortress, a combination Weaver-Reasearch Facility, Intelligence and Diplomatic Facility. The death of the Ebon Dragon forced the other Primordials to do an emergency and hasty patch job, slapping the Fiend Exaltations onto Kimberry, forcing the death of all the fFends at the time (minus one whose change is...significant).
The idea of a number of Alchemicals and Solar devising a way to allow many Alchemical to fuse into floating world Ships within Elsewhere is pretty nifty, but not essential to the story, probably a side-bar idea thingy.
The alliance that released the tension on Malfeas would have likely resulted in a clearing of the Great Curse, through Auto's work. Not necessarily though, just a thought.
Solars and Abyssals will also be reaching the highest levels of their powers (a few of them anyways) with Solars expanding and altering Creation, along side many Lunars and Alchemicals, creating new nations, environments and cultures, battling the Fae and what have you. As well as scheming to explore Elswhere, the Hallway of Doors, the reaches of Malfeas, the Underworld (and/or close the damn blights) Autochthon and what ever else happens to be impressive enough to warrant their attention. Abyssals will have a number reaching the point where they exceed their pathetic Deathlord 'Lieges' and even the impotent Neverborn, some few reaching an Apotheosis similar to the Infernals, but instead becoming Avatars of the perfection of Death, both Lethe and Oblivion, their Shards changing and passing on to create the seemingly unattached Lethean Exalted, Chosen of Death, guardians of the cycle of Lethe and Oblivion, life and death. This change will scare the shit out of a number of entities, including Lytek, Autobot, the Neverborn and the various Gods of Death, but NOT the newest Neverborn, the Dragon of Peaceful Slumber and Acceptance, whose few Deathknights aspire to reach Lethean Apotheosis and hopefully free their sublime Neverborn liege. New lethean will need a full write-up and a Charm set that covers a blend of Sidereals and Abyssals, with Infernal elements while thematically covering the rightness of Death, the inevitability of Death, the beauty of Lethe and the terror of Oblivion.
Lunars have it the strangest, though once again returned to 5 Castes, their various mates have taken on so many different guises that Lunars hearts are cast across any number of purposes. Many can be found at the edges of Creation, battling against the horrors that would rip creation back into madness, or exploring the various new worlds intrepidly. Some few though, are closely involved in a multitude of Social Experiments (including one in Autochthonia near the Pole of Lightning), or cleansing Blights and Shadowlands. It is widely suspected that Lunar activity helped bring about a number of the biggest alliances and treaties that ended the 4th Age (especially the events surrounding the fusion of Autochthonia and Malfeas), and are almost always to be found near any gathering of Solar-based Shards (Solars, Lunars, Abyssals or Lethean), adding their own brand of chaos to the mix.
Alchemicals have spread far and wide, as Autochthons reconnection to the Wyld vastly increased the resources available within his World-Body, and thusly to the inhabitants within, who were desperately at war with the forces of the First and Forsaken Lion and the Gremlin threat. When those passed Autochthon was safer, but the connection to Malfeas hadcaused a number of changes, one of which was Machine Demons setting up shop in areas that seem to become desolate regions covered in rust and dust and leading into Cecylene, and the various new strange additions to the depths, including the Brass and Saphire Rose vines, a plant that feeds on oil and rust, and spreads through Autobot actually helping close some blights and purify some lines. It also inadvertently increases the rodent population and eventually the infusion of a few smaller predator species designed to keep down the rats (and who are in turn kept down by the Tunnel-folk). Alchemicals from cities across Creation and other realities serve their nations as heroes and Champions, at home and abroad, and where they go, other Exalted achieve greater things when they work with them.
Nobody has had it rougher than the Sidereals. The 2nd Age ended the illusion of their titles as The Hands of Fate. No, by the end of the 3rd Age, the Maidens were forced to add an additional 50 Essences and redesign their Exalted purposes to account for a world where multiple Looms are co-reacting. Thus, the Sidereals have been subtly redesigned to accommodate their new rolls as Ambassadors of Fate, and On-the-Fly Fate Repairmen (think the Monks of Time from Pratchett sans Time-travel, meet the Men in Black). As part of the agreement between Autobot, the Solars and Malfeas, the Sidereals now have the power to deal with the Astrology of the other Realms (including the Underworld at a cost) and now act as ambassadors through out the Realms, watching and judging all Exalts and Gods with the Mandate of Heavens Eye behind them.
Dragon-Bloods. Few Exalts have lost so much, or grown so much. The Return of the Scarlet Empress destroyed their last grasp on power, the Age of the Demon Empress scattered them across Creation and destroyed all their nations (but one, see the New Continent) and the 4th Age, was the Age when they began to rise back to power again, the Bloodline of the Dragons now fully seeded across Creation, Autochthonia and Mycenis. The worlds have grown, so much more is open and available, and the dragon-Blooded are there. Where the limited few Celestials (Alchemicals an exception) are spread out across the worlds, the Dragon-Blooded are saturated across the various Realities, occupying most important positions where no greater power is their to lead them. There are over 400 well-known and respected schools for Dragon-Bloods across those realities, and many, many more lesser schools that teach simple Charms, terrestrial MA's and what have you.
The New Continent, the last bastion of Dragon-Blood rule. The largest nation being NovaLookshy, the largest city in creation, a fusion of Dragon-Blooded (Lookshyan predominantly), Autochthonian and Dragon-King aesthetics, with representatives of all three kinds living in this advanced, bustling, hyper-modernized city. Veg-tech, magitech, Sorcery, and Alchemical Weaving combine to turn the huge nation into a massive towering city that draws resources from all other cities and nations across the continent. The value of the NovaLookshyan economy to the various nations of Autochthonia and a few in Mycenis is so significant that representatives from all of those nations can be found in the Capital city at all times, and all nations from the various worlds pay attention to what happens in NovaLookshy. A fiercely democratic society with a number of socialist aspects, the Novans culture is very liberal, out-spoken and demonstrative, with the many colleges and schools across it hot-spots for cultural revolution.
